Trump escalates war of words with allies

CNN's Anderson Cooper discusses President Donald Trump's attacks on American allies ahead of the G7 summit.

Posted: Jun. 8, 2018 12:26 PM

Updated: Jun. 8, 2018 12:36 PM

Posted By: CNN Wire

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Things look so frosty right now that Trump isn't even staying for the whole summit. He plans to leave Saturday morning, conveniently skipping sessions on climate change and the environment. He'll fly straight to Singapore for his much-anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in China today for a state visit, his third trip to the country in about a year.

2. Leak investigation

James Wolfe, a longtime US Senate staffer, was arrested on charges of lying to federal agents. It's all part of an investigation into leaks. Prosecutors accuse Wolfe of lying to FBI agents last year about his contacts with three reporters, including one he was in a personal relationship with. A trove of emails and phone records shows lots of contact between Wolfe and one reporter, including a text message in which Wolfe wrote, "I always tried to give you as much information that I could," investigators said. The Trump administration wants to come down hard on leakers, and this is the first known instance of the Justice Department targeting a reporter's data under President Trump.

3. Migrant crisis

The United Nations slapped sanctions on six men who allegedly made fortunes buying and selling vulnerable migrants. It's an unprecedented response to the international slave trade that was exposed by CNN. Two Eritreans and four Libyans -- including a commander with the Libyan Coast Guard -- are accused of running criminal networks that traffic migrants through Libya to Europe. The Libyan commander is accused of using guns to intentionally sink boats carrying migrants. Others in the group are accused of having ties to terror groups, selling migrants as sex slaves and being responsible for some of the worst migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean. The sanctions will freeze the men's financial assets and subject them to strict travel bans.

4. Suicides

Suicide rates in the US increased more than 25% since 1999, a new CDC report finds. It was even worse in some parts of the country, with 25 states experiencing a rise in suicides of more than 30%. And more than half of those who died by suicide had not been diagnosed with a mental health condition. So, what's fueling the increase? "Social and life and economic stressors are the ones that create the conditions for suicides to happen," one doctor said. Limited access to care, including behavioral and social services, also factored in. If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there are ways to get help, including calling 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

5. Mars

Was there ever life on Mars? Scientists are still working on an answer to that, but they've gotten some tantalizing clues from NASA's Curiosity rover. It found organic matter in soil samples taken from a 3 billion-year-old mudstone. Curiosity also detected methane in the Martian atmosphere. So, what does that all mean? Searching for life beyond Earth means searching for organic compounds (like the organic matter in the mudstone) and molecules (methane is considered the simplest organic molecule). And Curiosity found evidence of both -- right there on the Red Planet.

TODAY'S NUMBERS

14 million

The number of Facebook users whose sharing settings were temporarily set to public for a few days last month, thanks to a bug. They've all been changed back, the company says.

$1 billion

That's the fine ZTE will pay as part of a deal with the US to save the state-controlled Chinese smartphone maker. ZTE will also change its corporate leadership and allow a US oversight team to embed inside the company. Some US lawmakers have already vowed to try to block the unusual deal.

TODAY'S QUOTE

"When you see empty clothes flying in the air, it's just unappealing and not mesmerizing or beautiful."

Alia Khan, chairwoman of the Islamic Fashion & Design Council in the United Arab Emirates, after witnessing a bizarre fashion show at a Saudi Arabian hotel in which drones floated dresses along a catwalk